Bleep

1995’s The Great Annihilator ranks among the best work of a band that, famously, doesn’t deal in anything other than best work. Reissued with a set of newly mastered mixes from the original sessions, this version of Swans’ ninth album can now be seen both as a cornerstone of the band’s lengthy catalogue and also a majestic stand-alone in its own right. Songs like ‘Celebrity Lifestyle’, ‘She Lives!’ and ‘Where Does a Body End?’ are anti-pop masterpieces, taking themselves apart before your eyes before they collapse under their own raw power. Nick Cave, Bauhaus, Tom Waits - it’s all in here, but it really is impossible to get a handle on the Swans experience without engaging first hand. What better place to start?